Cumberland Advocate: Sports

The Cumberland Post 98 American Legion Baseball team saw their season come to an end last week at the regional tournament in Chip- pewa Falls. Post 98 lost tilts to Hudson and Menomonie and were eliminated from the tournament. Menomonie and Eau Claire advanced from the eight-team field to the championship game, which was played Monday night. The winner advances to the state tournament.

Prior to last weekend, Post 98 concluded the regular season with a 6-4 and 12-1 doubleheader sweep of Unity last Tuesday night.

Cumberland rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win the opener. Sam Clark settled down after a rough start to take the pitching victory. He threw four scoreless innings at the end of the game, giving up only two hits over that stretch. Clark and Graham Miller also had key hits in the teams late inning rally.

Logan Jeffrey went the distance in the nightcap to take his second victory of the summer. He also joined battery- mate Beau Bergstrom with two-run doubles to pace Cumberland’s offense. Ryan Behling was another Post 98 player enjoying a big night, with a single and three walks, scoring three times.

Unfortunately, Post 98 did not play as well in Chippewa Falls. Their bats were silent in the opening 5-2 loss to Hudson, while a good Menomonie team took advantage of shoddy Cumberland defense to eliminate the hometowners, 12-2 on Friday. “Overall, we gave a good effort to end the season. This team really improved, despite playing against much older competition,” said Coach Chuck Jeffrey.

Cumberland led Hudson 2-0 after two innings in Thursday’s opener, before heavy rain caused a two-hour delay. Two infield errors by Post 98 after play resumed, however, led to a four-run Hudson third inning and a lead they never relinquished.

Cumberland had its chances, stranding seven runners in the contest and hitting into two doubleplays. Graham Miller took the tough pitching loss despite giving up only three earned runs in six innings of work. He struck out eight.

Five Cumberland errors were part of Menomonies offensive output on Friday. Menomonie also knocked out nine hits, against three Cumberland pitchers, ending Post 98’s season.

Cumberland could only manage singles from Sawyer FollansbeeDelong, Graham Miller, and Logan Jeffrey in the contest. Ryan Behling and FollansbeeDelong knocked in Cumber- lands’ two runs.

After the contest, the players voted on the 2008 award winners with Graham Miller winning “M.V.P.,” Beau Berg- strom, “Most Improved,” and Graham Severson the “Leadership Award.”

Miller had a great summer, hitting .346 and winning five games on the mound. Bergstrom, meanwhile, showed improvement as a catcher, while hitting .240. Severson was a leader, both vocally and by example for the team. “We want to congratulate these three kids, as well as our entire roster, for a very enjoyable summer. We also want to thank the Legion, John and Patty Blaskowski, and Corrie Behling for all the work they did to help the kids have a memorable, 2008,” said Coach Mark Fuller. The team ended 10-14 on the year.

With a couple more weekends of baseball in the books the Islanders are approaching the home stretch of the season. Two weekends ago they found themselves traveling to Stanberry and Spooner for two league games.

The Saturday game was against the Stanberry Giants with Justin Jobe taking the mound for the Islanders. Jake Lundquist drew first blood hitting an RBI double in the top of the third. The Giants would be quick to respond however, putting up three runs in the bottom of both the third and fourth innings. Cumberland would answer the five run deficit in the fifth, with a snowman ‘8’. In the inning Cumberland took advantage of a couple walks and two hit batsman by stringing together four hits. The highlight of the inning came with a Devon Broome Grand Slam which helped the Islanders claim back the lead, 9 to 6. Both teams would manage to put up four more runs each in the game with Cumberland defeating Stanberry, 13 to 10. Jordan Erickson had a great day going four for four, with a walk, and three runs scored.

The Sunday game against the Spooner Cardinals played out surprisingly similar, except the Islanders found themselves with the opposite hand. Cumberland had put together a 6 to 4 lead by the top of the eighth inning, but on that day it was the opponents turn to build a snowman of their own. Spooner unloaded in the bottom of the inning with six singles and two triples as they put eight runs on the scoreboard. That would end up being more than enough for the Cardinals to seal the win as they defeated the Islanders 12 to 6. The Islanders Jason Saffert, Greg Jacobs, and Joey Olson all had two hits in the game, which brought some positive light on a disappointing loss.

After those two games the Islanders were sitting at 7 and 5 in league play. This last weekend brought with it two more league games against the Hayward Hawks and the Grantsburg Honkers.

The Hayward Hawks came to Cumberland on Saturday for an overcast game at Islander Park. After an abrupt score by Hayward in the top of the first, the Islanders answered with two of their own on hits by Dane Nickel and Austin FollansbeeDelong in the bottom of the inning. Chad Olson would score another run for Cumberland in the fourth off of a Marty Lundequam hit, but the fifth inning found the game tied 3 to 3. Tim Muellenbach struck out six Hawk batters in his six innings of work with Jake Lundquist replacing him in the seventh. The game ended up being more than anyone expected going into extra innings. The game made it to the eleventh inning where Jake continued his dominance over the Hayward batters on the mound, after Cumberland missed out on an opportunity in the bottom of the tenth. Joey Olson led the Islanders offense in the eleventh with a base hit and a stolen base, putting him on second. Then, on a Greg Jacobs grounder, Joey pushed the issue and pressured the Hawk’s defense into an error that allowed him to score the winning run, ending the game in favor of Cumberland, 4 to 3.

On Sunday the Islanders traveled to Grantsburg for what turned out to be a pitching duel. Nate Froehlich took the mound for the Islanders and put forth another outstanding performance. He struck out seven batters, while giving up only two runs on just a handful of hits. The Cumberland offense however offered no support and managed only four hits the whole game. The Islanders just couldn’t get any balls to fall as every hit seemed to be right at a member of the Honker’s defense. Tim Muellenbach was the one bright spot at the plate with two of the team’s four hits which put him at 5 for 7 for the weekend. The Islanders lost to the Honkers, 2 to 0.

The 8 and 6 Islanders are now looking forward to two more games this weekend as they try to guarantee fourth place in their league. They will be playing a non-league game away on Saturday, but encourage everyone to join them at Islander Park for their 1:00 p.m. game on Sunday against the Siren Steelers.

The Islanders would like to thank everyone for their support so far this season and especially to the fans who make the drive to watch the away games.

The Islanders would also like to send a Shout Out to the “Old Timers” who have played with them: Dean Bergstrom, Marty Lundequam, and Chad Olson.

Their participation in the game against the Hayward Hawks made all the difference. Lastly, another Shout Out to the Islanders coach, Isaac Lundquist, whose work and dedication is unrivalled, and they wish only the best for him.

The 29th annual Hubler Labor Day open will be held on Monday, September 3 at Turtleback in Rice Lake. The 18-hole scramble event is open to the public.

Tee times for the Hubler Open can be made by calling Turtleback at 234-7641. Teams must tee off before 11 a.m. The entry fee of $49 per person includes green fees and a cart.

The 2007 defending champions are

Men’s Division: Norm and Jon Yamada, Rock Holmquist and Larry Tripp.

Women’s Division: Lou McManus, Marilyn Larson, Betz Latsch and Cheryl Treland.

Mixed Division: Holly and Aaron Scharf and Amy and Aaron Marsh.